Division of Workforce Development and Adult Learning

About the Numbers - Occupational and Industry Projections

Sources of projected employment data
National projections are developed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. The Maryland projections are developed in the Office of Workforce Information and
Performance within the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation.

Projection period
The long term projection period for Maryland is developed on a ten-year basis. National projections are developed on a 2-year schedule and Maryland follows a similar schedule.

Data
All data are based on place of work and represent the numbers of jobs, both full-time and part-time. Projected employment implies filled demand and assumes a labor supply to
meet the needs. Job vacancies and surplus supply are not addressed in the numbers. Numbers are rounded to the nearest 5. (Rounding of data to the nearest 5 may affect
additivity.)

Employment change
Employment change is important because occupations with large employment that are projected to grow slowly may create more jobs than occupations with small employment that are
projected to grow rapidly.

Industry data
Industry data uses the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).

Occupational data
Occupations covered by the projections reflect the Standard Occupational Classification, which is the basis of the Occupational Employment Statistics survey used to gather
occupational employment data in cooperation with the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Many occupations are not identified separately in this classification and are included in
aggregate categories.
Employment may not be found in all occupations in sufficient numbers to warrant the development of occupational projections or they may not meet publication standards.

Total openings
Total openings is the sum of the positive employment change over the projection period and an estimate of the number of jobs that will arise from the need to replace workers
who will die, retire, or permanently leave the occupation for other reasons over the projection period. Occupations with declining employment will have job openings equal to
replacement needs, since openings cannot have a negative value.

Education and training
In 2011, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) finalized a new classification system for identifying the education and training requirements of detailed occupations.
The new BLS system provides individual assignments to each occupation for three dimensions: education, work experience in a related occupation, and on-the-job training. The
objective of the new system is to present a more complete picture of the education and training needed for entry into a given occupation and to become competent at performing
the occupation.

BLS assigns the following categories to each occupation:

Entry level education-represents the typical education level needed to enter an occupation. There are eight possible assignments for this category. The educational levels
are: Doctoral or professional degree, Master's degree, Bachelor's degree, Associate's degree, Postsecondary non-degree award, Some college, no degree, High school diploma or
equivalent and Less than high school.

Work experience in a related occupation-indicates if work experience in a related occupation is commonly considered necessary by employers for entry into the occupation,
or is a commonly accepted substitute for formal types of training. Assignments for this category will be more than 5 years, 1-5 years, less than 1 year, or none.

Typical on-the-job training-indicates the typical on-the-job training needed to attain competency in the occupation. Assignments for this category include
internship/residency; apprenticeship; long-term, moderate-term, or short-term on-the-job training; or none.

For some occupations, education code may be blank due to publication standards. Also, education codes are for detailed occupations only and not groups of occupations.

Education Codes

A

Bachelor degree or higher

B

Post secondary award or associate degree

C

High school or less

Projected Number of Jobs
This total employment estimate is produced using forecasting software that utilizes a variety of mathematical models, including regression analyses, to produce a projected
employment estimate.
This process takes into account state relationships to national factors on such data elements as population and personal income statistics.

Average Annual Demand
The demand for workers needed yearly is based on two factors: the number of jobs expected to be available due to growth, and the number of jobs expected to be available due to
replacement needs.
Total jobs are the summation of job openings due to growth and job openings due to replacement.
Annualized results are calculated by dividing by 10, the number of years in the projection period. Note: Average Annual Demand is an estimate that results from division. It is
not the number of job vacancies in any specific year within the 10-year period.

Jobs Due to Growth
Jobs due to growth are created by industry employment expansion.
The annual average number of jobs expected to be available yearly due to growth is calculated by dividing the projected employment growth by the number of years in the projection
period, in this case, 10.
Growth is rarely the main cause of net job openings and creates the majority of jobs expected to be available yearly only in the fastest growing occupations. Negative growth
(or declining employment) is shown as zero; negative growth demand will not affect the replacement need.

Jobs Due To Net Replacement
Jobs available due to replacement are job openings attributed to workers who permanently leave an occupation (e.g. retirement, death, exits the workforce, etc.).

Disclaimer - The accuracy of projections is subject to error because of the many unknown factors that will affect the economy over the projection period. While occupational
employment projections and related job outlook information can provide valuable inputs to the career decision-making process, they should not be the sole basis of a career choice.